Clean Campaign

August 3, 1986

Here we go again. The race is on for three seats on the Osceola County School Board. The potential is particularly high this year for the business of politics to disrupt the business of operating the schools.

That is not to say the three incumbents facing challengers this fall should be returned to office simply to minimize the discombobulation. But let us hope for once that the campaigning that has been so regrettable in the past will not recur.

How is it that politics can disrupt education? First, the infighting between candidates over the past several election years has been nasty. That has left a unpalatable flavor to the offices and those who hold them.

Second, decisions, on even the most routine of issues, are mired in debate. Where there ought to be compromise, there are personality clashes. Even when solutions are found, the fighting has continued.

The squabbling filters into school administrative offices and classrooms. Teachers and administrators lobby for one candidate and against another. Students attend school board and county commission meetings to argue politics and policy.

It is gratifying to see students become involved, but what sort of leadership have they to follow when elected officials spend their evenings in bitter debate? This time around, why not set a finer example?